Lomaiviti Princess III To Be On Dry Dock In NZ

The Lomaiviti Princess III will go for dry-dock in New Zealand soon, says the managing director Goundar Shipping Limited George Goundar.

“The plan is for the LP3 to be dry dock in Auckland in March,” he said.

Mr Goundar said the vessel would leave for NZ in March.

According to Mr Goundar the absence of the Lomaiviti Princess III from Fiji would not affect the company’s services to the outer islands.

“We still have the Lomaiviti I, Lomaiviti II and Lomaiviti IV to transport cargoes and passengers to all the maritime islands we serve.”

The LP III was built in 1978 and can carry 700 passengers. It has the capacity to load 40 ten wheeler trucks or 150 cars and has comfortable seating, cabins and dining facilities play areas for children, emergency medical care, and accommodations for the disabled.

Before the vessel was brought into the country the company carried out a major refit for it to meet Fiji’s stringent safety requirements.

When commissioning the Lomaiviti Princess III, Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama said, “Prior to a recent amendment to the ship registration decree in the budget session, ships older than 20 years could not be brought into Fiji. But thanks to this common sense reform, these older vessels can be imported once they’ve met stringent safety requirements. This allows older vessels that still carry a lot of value, to be re-fitted to serve our market without sacrificing the safety of our passengers.”